Name:
Tony Homer Age:
18 Gender:
Boy Occupation:
supporter of the family; main worker -> will change over the course of the diaries Appearance:
6 feet tall, good looking and lean Location:
Winnipeg -> will also change Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits:
Very friendly, athletic, intelligent but not the most courageous boy out there Family:
Mother: Housewife
Younger sister (Emma): preschooler
Father: professor (died during a business trip to China) Education:
finished secondary education Languages you speak:
French, English and broken Chinese Your main concerns at this time and in life:
supporting the family -> will change as well Portrait (an image that you and we can live with):
Diary #1 - December 25, 1937
Today our family was in the midst of enjoying Christmas when a series of rapid knocks on our door signaled tragic news. The postman, even though it was late at night, had hurried over to our house in order to give us an urgent letter from one of my father's colleagues who had gone to China with him. My father, who was fairly interested in the Asian nations (especially China) and had gone on a business trip to China in order to interact with the culture there had been murdered by Japanese soldiers. In the letter, father's colleague had written as much information as he could about what had happened; almost as soon as the had arrived in China, Japan and China had gone into a fierce war regarded as the Second Sino-Japanese War. Thanks to my father's frequent trips to China, he had some friends in Nanjing and they were safe for a few months until the Japanese troops initiated a full-scale attack on the capital; Japanese troops were shooting and raping the Chinese who were living there. For about two weeks, the Chinese household that my father and his colleagues were staying at hadn't been touched by any of the Japanese troops, until one day my father had heard the scream of his Chinese friend coming from outside of the house. He had hurried outside to see a couple of Japanese soldiers trying to rape his Chinese friend's wife and beating him to the ground. My father had ran into the troops in order to stop them and had gotten shot during the struggle; father's colleague was lucky enough to escape from the house without being noticed and managed to write us a quick letter about the incident. His messy handwriting clearly showed us that Nanjing was in a serious situation right now. At the end of the letter, he had scribbled down how sorry he was for our loss and that he should have taken better care of father. It seems that father's colleague ran away to one of father's Chinese friends living in Hong Kong. That one letter ruined our Christmas night; the thought of not being able to see my father or hear his hearty laughter crushed my heart, but mother and I decided to hide or emotions so Emma wouldn't know for now. Father and I were supposed to have our fifth Chinese lesson once he got back home. Now it seems that I will only be able to speak broken Chinese from now on....
Diary #2 - October 10, 1941
Today, I heard news that Canada was planning to declare war on Japan. People were talking about it all over the neighborhood and there were a lot of different opinions about the declaration, but most of the opinions were the same; the Japanese needed to learn a lesson. Most of them felt like that because they had heard about what had happened to father; a lot of people in Winnipeg knew about father and he was a rather popular professor of The University of Winnipeg. People who had liked father all thought the Japanese needed to be punished for their actions and were supporting the declaration. Some boys around my age were gathered around a poster and were talking about volunteering for the army; I felt like that was the right thing to do for me as well but I honestly was a little scared too.
Army Poster
Back at home, mother and Emma were reading a book together and they seemed happy so I waited a bit before I called my mother to the kitchen to tell her what I had on mind; I wanted to join the army and avenge father's death. As soon as she heard me say that she tried to walk out of the room, but I held her and told her that it was the only thing I felt was right. She told me in tears that the family needed me to support it and Emma needed me too, and that she did not even want to imagine what would happen if I ended up like father. When she said that, I admit I was scared about death and what would happen to me during the war, but I knew deep down inside I had no other desire other then to support Canada and try to at least prevent another family somewhere in Canada from losing their father. I told mother, I promised mother that I would come back as a healthy man and send her letters regularly so that she would know I was alive. After moments of silence and tears mother said yes and approved of my decision. I plan to go with my friends as some of them shared the same idea with me and I feel that going with my friends would make it much more brighter than going alone. If Canada ever declares war on Japan, I will hot hesitate in participating.
Diary #3 - October 25, 1941
Finally; it seems that I will be heading towards war very soon. Today, there was a huge crowd of boys at the central. There was a sign up for the Winnipeg Grenadiers and I quickly wrote down my name in order to show my willingness to participate in battle. Right away did the soldier tell me to pack my belongings; we were supposed to leave right away! I was kind of shocked that we had to leave the day we signed up, but I was more than eager to step into battle. I ran home and told mother that I was to become a soldier today and she looked at me with a stupefied expression: "What? Already? Why didn't you tell me this earlier Tony?" I told her that I had no idea we were to sign up and leave on the same day but promised her that I would come back and send her letters regularly. I was running out of time so I had to stuff in my belongings into my case as fast as possible and mother was following me around and crying the whole time. I felt bad for such a sudden thing to happen, but what could I have done? I myself didn't expect something like this to happen so fast. Anyway, as soon as I was done I gave sobbing mother a long hug and told Emma that I would be back and that she should be a good girl in the meanwhile.
After our farewells, I ran to the central with my friends and received my uniform and weapons. This was my first time holding a weapon in my life; the only thing I held that I considered a weapon until now was a flimsy slingshot I had made back when I was young. Prepared for battle, prepared to avenge and prepared to die, we the Winnipeg Grenadiers headed toward Hong Kong in order to protect the region and participate in battle. We're on a boat right now heading towards Hong Kong; I hope we get there soon because I am not that friendly with boats.... (Ugh)
Diary #4 - December 25, 1941
Oh my god... The Battle of Hong Kong is finally over. Although the Japanese did emerge victorious I am just happy that I am alive and heading back home first thing tomorrow. We went through a harsh battle with Japan; even though we had the United Kingdom fighting along with us against them, the Japanese force was just too well organized and powerful. I think the main reason behind our loss was that we Winnipeg Grenadiers weren't much of a help due to our inexperience in battle. I mean, we were recruited AND sent to Hong Kong on the same day without any battle training our practice; its more than natural that we got bashed by the Japanese. Also, being the first actual battle experience for most of us Canadians, we were all scared in the beginning. Bullets flying back and forth, in the split of a second when you turn your head the other way you hear your comrade dying behind you, you unexpectedly come face to face with the enemy at times and even face death when you see a rifle pointed at you and you barely jump out of the way to dodge the bullet. Most of the deaths were because the soldiers were panicking and did not knowing what to do; for us battle newbies, being on the battlefield alone was enough for us to make a mistake in our pants.
I had gone through such a horrifying experience. Never do I want to be involved in such bloodshed again, nor do I want to ever have to hold a gun again. Through this battle, I went through a lot of things; I've seen people get killed, I've killed a few myself and I've barely missed becoming a dead person too. Actually, I almost killed one of the Japanese officers with my grenade; just as the grenade exploded, one of the Japanese soldiers jumped on him and saved his life. Never in my life had I felt so bad for not killing somebody; that was the one time when I slapped my knee and said "Damn, that was close!" and I have to admit that thinking about it now, that was such a scary thing to come out of my mouth. Oh the wonders the environment can do to change a human....
Anyway, I am so relieved that the battle is over and I managed to survive this mayhem. I can't wait until I get back home and hug mother and Emma! I can already see them crying and smiling at my arrival. I wonder how much Emma has grown...
Tony Homer
Age:
18
Gender:
Boy
Occupation:
supporter of the family; main worker -> will change over the course of the diaries
Appearance:
6 feet tall, good looking and lean
Location:
Winnipeg -> will also change
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits:
Very friendly, athletic, intelligent but not the most courageous boy out there
Family:
Mother: Housewife
Younger sister (Emma): preschooler
Father: professor (died during a business trip to China)
Education:
finished secondary education
Languages you speak:
French, English and broken Chinese
Your main concerns at this time and in life:
supporting the family -> will change as well
Portrait (an image that you and we can live with):
Diary #1 - December 25, 1937
Today our family was in the midst of enjoying Christmas when a series of rapid knocks on our door signaled tragic news. The postman, even though it was late at night, had hurried over to our house in order to give us an urgent letter from one of my father's colleagues who had gone to China with him. My father, who was fairly interested in the Asian nations (especially China) and had gone on a business trip to China in order to interact with the culture there had been murdered by Japanese soldiers. In the letter, father's colleague had written as much information as he could about what had happened; almost as soon as the had arrived in China, Japan and China had gone into a fierce war regarded as the Second Sino-Japanese War. Thanks to my father's frequent trips to China, he had some friends in Nanjing and they were safe for a few months until the Japanese troops initiated a full-scale attack on the capital; Japanese troops were shooting and raping the Chinese who were living there. For about two weeks, the Chinese household that my father and his colleagues were staying at hadn't been touched by any of the Japanese troops, until one day my father had heard the scream of his Chinese friend coming from outside of the house. He had hurried outside to see a couple of Japanese soldiers trying to rape his Chinese friend's wife and beating him to the ground. My father had ran into the troops in order to stop them and had gotten shot during the struggle; father's colleague was lucky enough to escape from the house without being noticed and managed to write us a quick letter about the incident. His messy handwriting clearly showed us that Nanjing was in a serious situation right now. At the end of the letter, he had scribbled down how sorry he was for our loss and that he should have taken better care of father. It seems that father's colleague ran away to one of father's Chinese friends living in Hong Kong. That one letter ruined our Christmas night; the thought of not being able to see my father or hear his hearty laughter crushed my heart, but mother and I decided to hide or emotions so Emma wouldn't know for now. Father and I were supposed to have our fifth Chinese lesson once he got back home. Now it seems that I will only be able to speak broken Chinese from now on....
Diary #2 - October 10, 1941
Today, I heard news that Canada was planning to declare war on Japan. People were talking about it all over the neighborhood and there were a lot of different opinions about the declaration, but most of the opinions were the same; the Japanese needed to learn a lesson. Most of them felt like that because they had heard about what had happened to father; a lot of people in Winnipeg knew about father and he was a rather popular professor of The University of Winnipeg. People who had liked father all thought the Japanese needed to be punished for their actions and were supporting the declaration. Some boys around my age were gathered around a poster and were talking about volunteering for the army; I felt like that was the right thing to do for me as well but I honestly was a little scared too.
Back at home, mother and Emma were reading a book together and they seemed happy so I waited a bit before I called my mother to the kitchen to tell her what I had on mind; I wanted to join the army and avenge father's death. As soon as she heard me say that she tried to walk out of the room, but I held her and told her that it was the only thing I felt was right. She told me in tears that the family needed me to support it and Emma needed me too, and that she did not even want to imagine what would happen if I ended up like father. When she said that, I admit I was scared about death and what would happen to me during the war, but I knew deep down inside I had no other desire other then to support Canada and try to at least prevent another family somewhere in Canada from losing their father. I told mother, I promised mother that I would come back as a healthy man and send her letters regularly so that she would know I was alive. After moments of silence and tears mother said yes and approved of my decision. I plan to go with my friends as some of them shared the same idea with me and I feel that going with my friends would make it much more brighter than going alone. If Canada ever declares war on Japan, I will hot hesitate in participating.
Diary #3 - October 25, 1941
Finally; it seems that I will be heading towards war very soon. Today, there was a huge crowd of boys at the central. There was a sign up for the Winnipeg Grenadiers and I quickly wrote down my name in order to show my willingness to participate in battle. Right away did the soldier tell me to pack my belongings; we were supposed to leave right away! I was kind of shocked that we had to leave the day we signed up, but I was more than eager to step into battle. I ran home and told mother that I was to become a soldier today and she looked at me with a stupefied expression: "What? Already? Why didn't you tell me this earlier Tony?" I told her that I had no idea we were to sign up and leave on the same day but promised her that I would come back and send her letters regularly. I was running out of time so I had to stuff in my belongings into my case as fast as possible and mother was following me around and crying the whole time. I felt bad for such a sudden thing to happen, but what could I have done? I myself didn't expect something like this to happen so fast. Anyway, as soon as I was done I gave sobbing mother a long hug and told Emma that I would be back and that she should be a good girl in the meanwhile.
After our farewells, I ran to the central with my friends and received my uniform and weapons. This was my first time holding a weapon in my life; the only thing I held that I considered a weapon until now was a flimsy slingshot I had made back when I was young. Prepared for battle, prepared to avenge and prepared to die, we the Winnipeg Grenadiers headed toward Hong Kong in order to protect the region and participate in battle. We're on a boat right now heading towards Hong Kong; I hope we get there soon because I am not that friendly with boats.... (Ugh)
Diary #4 - December 25, 1941
Oh my god... The Battle of Hong Kong is finally over. Although the Japanese did emerge victorious I am just happy that I am alive and heading back home first thing tomorrow. We went through a harsh battle with Japan; even though we had the United Kingdom fighting along with us against them, the Japanese force was just too well organized and powerful. I think the main reason behind our loss was that we Winnipeg Grenadiers weren't much of a help due to our inexperience in battle. I mean, we were recruited AND sent to Hong Kong on the same day without any battle training our practice; its more than natural that we got bashed by the Japanese. Also, being the first actual battle experience for most of us Canadians, we were all scared in the beginning. Bullets flying back and forth, in the split of a second when you turn your head the other way you hear your comrade dying behind you, you unexpectedly come face to face with the enemy at times and even face death when you see a rifle pointed at you and you barely jump out of the way to dodge the bullet. Most of the deaths were because the soldiers were panicking and did not knowing what to do; for us battle newbies, being on the battlefield alone was enough for us to make a mistake in our pants.
I had gone through such a horrifying experience. Never do I want to be involved in such bloodshed again, nor do I want to ever have to hold a gun again. Through this battle, I went through a lot of things; I've seen people get killed, I've killed a few myself and I've barely missed becoming a dead person too. Actually, I almost killed one of the Japanese officers with my grenade; just as the grenade exploded, one of the Japanese soldiers jumped on him and saved his life. Never in my life had I felt so bad for not killing somebody; that was the one time when I slapped my knee and said "Damn, that was close!" and I have to admit that thinking about it now, that was such a scary thing to come out of my mouth. Oh the wonders the environment can do to change a human....
Anyway, I am so relieved that the battle is over and I managed to survive this mayhem. I can't wait until I get back home and hug mother and Emma! I can already see them crying and smiling at my arrival. I wonder how much Emma has grown...